In a further sign that omicron is waning, new COVID-19 cases in Allegheny County fell by more than half in the first week of February compared with the end of January.
For the week of Jan. 30 to Feb. 5, the county reported 3,850 new infections, a 63% drop-off from the week before, when 10,455 infections were reported.
While cases are continuing to fall rapidly, deaths related to the omicron wave remain high, with 75 deaths reported in the first week of February compared with 80 in the last week of January.
January was the deadliest month for COVID-19 in the county since before the vaccines became widely available in early 2021. Last month, 243 residents with a confirmed infection died from virus-related complications. (The county had initially reported 236 deaths but has since adjusted the number.)
Statewide, cases are also dropping sharply, according to the latest data from the Department of Health. For the week of Jan. 31 to Feb. 6, the daily average number of cases was 5,487, a more than 50% drop from the week before, when the daily average number of cases was 11,405.
Hospitalizations continue to trend downward as well. The number of Pennsylvanians currently hospitalized with COVID-19 on Monday, Feb. 7 was nearly 26% lower than the previous Monday.
"Weekly COVID-19 trends in Pennsylvania are continuing to move in the right direction," Acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter said in a statement. "Continuing this trend requires a combination of simple prevention measures, personal responsibility and prompt action."
Klinepeter has been stressing the importance of vaccination, especially for children. As of Feb. 7, just 23% of U.S. children aged 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
Out of the 3,850 new infections in Allegheny County last week, more than 500 were in children under the age of 9, according to the health department. The vaccine rollout for children ages 5 to 11 began in November after the Food and Drug Administration granted emergency use authorization for Pfizer's two-dose vaccine in that age group.
In Allegheny County, 33% of children ages 4 to 9 had received their full course of COVID-19 doses as of Feb. 4, according to Pennsylvania's COVID-19 Vaccine Dashboard. Statewide, 22% of children in that age group are fully vaccinated. Among 10- to 14-year-olds, 45% are fully vaccinated in the county compared with about 36% statewide.
In neighboring Westmoreland County, less than 16% of children ages 4 to 9 and less than 28% of children aged 10 to 14 are fully vaccinated.
In October, California became the first state to announce COVID-19 vaccine requirements for in-person attendance at K-12 schools. If the FDA grants full approval of the COVID-19 vaccines for children ages 12 and older and those ages 5 to 11, students in those age groups will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Louisiana followed in December, with the governor announcing that the COVID-19 vaccine would be added to the list of immunizations required for in-person school attendance, beginning in the 2022 to 2023 school year, if full approval of the vaccine is granted for children. The District of Columbia's city council also voted in December to require eligible school students to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
